As you all know, I'm an avid foodie who loves to try different restaurants in the DMV area, and I'm always on the lookout for gems whether they be fine dining establishments or hole-in-the-wall joints. I don't discriminate - good food is good food, but Citron just so happens to fall in the former. Their restaurant, located on Quarry Lake at Greenspring in Baltimore County, offers elegant dining in addition to a comfortable bar and lounge. On top of that, there's outdoor seating with a beautiful lakeside view exclusive to guests. Their menu, crafted by Charles Levine and his talented culinary team, features contemporary American cuisine with a French twist, which changes seasonally to offer the freshest ingredients possible to patrons.
Dinner started off with an array of cocktails and starters. The impeccably-trained waitstaff brought tuna tartare ($17), black skillet roasted mussels ($16), citron's seasonal salad ($12) and artisan cheeses & charcuterie ($25) for the table. The cocktails we got were as follows (from left to right): a Sazerac, a Cucumber Lemonade, a Water Lily, and a Booloo. They were all tasty, but my favorite of the bunch was the Cucumber Lemonade - definitely make sure to order one if you come here because it's one of their unique handcrafted cocktails. It was super refreshing and complemented the apps beautifully!
A close-up shot of their charcuterie - it came with a variety of fresh & dried fruits, nuts, olives, breads, and honeycomb.
The seasonal salad was an absolute treat! Who knew salad could be tasty? Ha. It had baby arugula, orange bits, onions, spicy walnuts, biscotti croutons (yasssss), and raspberry vinaigrette.
If you love mussels, this app is an absolute must-try! It comes out piping hot, and the presentation's even more impressive in person.
Andddd the tuna tartare. It comes with spicy tograrashi chips, but I removed them for photos! Featuring sushi grade tuna, cucumber, radish, haricots verts, avocado tzatziki, and makrut lime vinaigrette, this dish tastes as good as it looks...according to my bf, ha. I don't eat fish so I didn't get to try this dish, but he downed it within minutes soooo yep!
Moving onto entrees! Like our apps, we ordered a bunch of dishes for the table and shared it all: citrus glazed atlantic swordfish ($39), pan seared pacific halibut ($43), 16 ounce marcho farms bone in veal chop ($54), and baby lamp chops ($43).
The veal came with pickled blackberries, baby arugula, charred tomato, wild mushrooms, crumbled humboldt fog, and white balsamic vinaigrette.
Topped with black currant demi-glace, the lamb chops came with chevre stuffed peppadew and meyer lemon-mint gremolata.
For all you fish lovers out there, here's the swordwish! Glazed with citrus magic, it comes with a summer veggie salad and white quinoa.
And last but not least, the halibut accompanied with a delish chorizo corn cake, fava bean okinawa yams, grape tomatoes, and blood orange salsa.
And finally, my fave part of the meal: dessert. I was totally blown away by their key lime & tangerine marshmallow tart. Filled with layers of key lime + tangerine curd, roasted house-made marshmallow, and rhubarb molasses in a shortbread crust, it was easily one of the best desserts I've ever had. The spring sampler was also amazing! For those of you wondering, it came with a mini-coconut custard brulee, a garnet dark chocolate torte, a mint julip petit four, and a jasmine blueberry ice cream cone. I'd seriously go back for the sweets alone, like I'm drooling just thinking about it.
Anywho, that's a wrap for today! A huge thanks to Citron for being such wonderful hosts. Definitely let me know if you guys decide to eat here - I'd love to hear your thoughts. Sending lots and lots of love from Maryland.
